A Minor Flaw!

Why was he in a rush? He wasn't in a rush at all!

If anyone should be in a rush, it was Horus!

Could it be that Horus had done something to disappoint their father?

Magnus grew more and more restless as he thought about it, the fire of gossip burning fiercely in his heart.

Suddenly.

He remembered that his own sons occasionally interacted with the Astartes of other legions during their rest periods.

Perhaps he could get the answers he wanted from them!

Thinking of this, Magnus immediately set off for the nearby monastery, but before he could even push the door open, he heard some things that made him quite uncomfortable.

"Do you think Captain Ahriman and the others will ever come back? What if it's true, like the Word Bearers say, that we'll all be purged once the Great Crusade ends?"

"That can't be right, that's not a funny joke at all."

"I heard from the Word Bearers that the Emperor has replaced the War Council with the Council of Terra, and there isn't a single primarch in it!"

"I also heard from the brothers in the Word Bearers that there really are gods in this world!"

The previous comments were just complaints, but the last sentence stung Magnus, and he immediately pushed the door open to reprimand them. "Who said that! That is heresy! You must hold firm to the Imperial Truth!"

The group, who had been laughing and joking on the floor, immediately stood up.

"Reporting to the primarch, it was the warriors of the Word Bearers who said it!"

Seeing their honest reply, Magnus breathed a sigh of relief and reassured them.

"Don't you worry, they will be fine."

"By the way, do you know what has been happening with the Sons of Horus?"

The group looked confused as to why their primarch had changed the subject so quickly, but they still answered honestly.

"We heard them say that they seem to be heading to a planet called Davin soon."

Magnus: "..."

He had come to hear gossip about Horus, and this bit of information was utterly useless!

"How is this a useless bit of information? This is incredibly important!" Francis exclaimed, patting Leman Russ.

Leman Russ: "???"

If history was correct, the major turning point of the Great Crusade was happening right now.

He needed to speed up his actions!

The moment Francis stepped out of the cell, a large amount of pheromones were inhaled into his body along with the air.

"Cough, cough, cough~ No, Sixth Brother, just how much ale did you drink and how much meat did you eat!"

The strong scent of alcohol was mixed with a pungent smell of Howl-Ox, and Francis couldn't quite adapt to it at first.

"Hmph, it was merely three barrels of ale and two Howl-Oxen." Leman Russ sounded rather proud as he said this.

"Right, right, right~ Sixth Brother is amazing. I heard that when Father first found you, he had a competition with you in eating, drinking, and fighting, and Sixth Brother, you... wuwuwu..."

Before Francis could finish, Leman Russ, with a dark face, covered his mouth and begged for mercy.

"Francis, why don't you just stab me instead. Consider it my debt to you, I beg you, stop talking."

Seeing Francis raise his hands to show he was no longer resisting, Leman Russ finally let go.

"Then Sixth Brother, you must remember that you owe me a favor."

Leman Russ looked at him warily. "Fine, but it cannot go against the will of our father!"

"No problem! He is our shared father, after all."

It took the two of them twice as long as expected to finally walk out of the dungeon.

If it weren't for Leman Russ pulling him along, Francis would have surely opened a door containing forbidden artifacts.

Finally.

Francis left the dark, damp dungeon and arrived inside the Imperial Palace.

The interior walls were decorated in a magnificent style, carved with prayers of the Ecclesiarchy or patterns depicting the history of the Empire.

At the same time, the palace was filled with the scent of protective incense and surgical chemicals; these odors intertwined with the other smells of the Inquisition fortress, appearing both solemn and mysterious.

However, this atmosphere was immediately shattered.

"FRANCIS!!! LOOK AT THE MESS YOU'VE MADE!"

In the distance, an Adeptus Custodes clad in auramite power armor let out a harrowing roar and ran over, completely disregarding decorum.

Unlike the Adeptus Custodes he had seen before, one could faintly see a lot of green hair beneath this one's helmet.

It wasn't until they got closer that the two recognized the other party; it was Constantin.

"Francis! Tell me what is going on with the color of this hair!"

Constantin took off his helmet and pointed at his flowing green hair. It was not only very thick and abundant, but it had even grown down to his waist.

"Ahem, isn't this great? You don't even need to dye your hair; green represents vitality. How wonderful!" Francis's eyes darted around, not daring to look the other way.

"Is that so? Look again!" Constantin was on the verge of tears; he hadn't felt this much agony even when facing countless enemies.

He took a few steps, moving into the sunlight.

Instantly.

His hair grew rapidly as if it possessed a life of its own, reaching the floor in the blink of an eye.

And that wasn't all; one could hear constant popping sounds coming from Constantin's body, accompanied by a strange odor.

Because this was a rather important area within the Imperial Palace on Terra, there were quite a few soldiers patrolling back and forth.

Constantin finally gritted his teeth, his eyes rimmed with red, and asked, "How do I fix this? Farting in front of the venerable Emperor is a form of blasphemy! You must resolve this!"

Leman Russ stepped in front of Francis, though he said nothing.

"Uh, let me see. This shouldn't be happening."

Francis bypassed Leman Russ and plucked a strand of hair from Constantin's head, placing it into his mouth.

A surge of genetic information flowed from the hair.

Vesken DNA 35%, Ork DNA 47%
Likes sunlight
Super-regeneration, photosynthesis
Living hair, short lifespan, stops growing once deactivated.

Francis raised an eyebrow; it was just a tiny flaw!

"Don't worry. This is living hair; once it dies off in a while, the hair color will return to normal."

"Besides, the length won't change anymore. If it doesn't work, you can just shave it bald then."

Hearing Francis's explanation, Constantin finally felt at ease. Seeing them heading to the left, he immediately prompted, "Go from the right; you'll be able to see the assembled Soul Drinkers legion."

"...So, Sixth Brother, why were you walking to the left with such righteous confidence?" Francis looked at Leman Russ in front of him, beginning to feel suspicious.

"Uh, aren't we going to eat?"

Francis: "..."

The two turned around and immediately headed toward the right.

Halfway there, Francis suddenly remembered he had prepared something good for this Sixth Brother.

He reached into his box, pulled out a bottle of clear, emerald-green liquid, and tossed it to Leman Russ.

"This is?"

"This is some wine I brewed on the side while waiting for the psychic barrier to be lifted. Want a taste?"

Facing Francis's pure and innocent expression, Leman Russ skeptically unscrewed the cap, and a strange, intoxicating aroma drifted out.

He took a cautious sip; at first, it was a cool and sweet sensation, followed by layers of mellow, lingering depth that seemed to touch the warmth deep within his soul.

The liquid slowly dissolved in his mouth, possessing both the elegance of wine and a unique, savory sweetness, carrying a subtle hint of wildness and mystery that made one involuntarily close their eyes.

"Good wine!"

Leman Russ's eyes lit up; this tasted far better than ale!

By comparison, the ale he had been drinking before was just horse piss!

Pfft~

Before Leman Russ could continue his praise, an incredibly loud and long fart sound left him completely stunned.

Leman Russ turned his head to look at Francis, only to find the boy had already scampered off, his laughter echoing through the corridor. "Hehe~ isn't it fun!"

"You brat! Don't run, let me catch you!" Leman Russ, furious, took off in pursuit of Francis.

Along the extremely long palace corridor, lined with countless massive glass windows, the two figures flashed past one after another, both brimming with long-lost smiles.

On the planet Davin.

Amidst a patch of ruined debris, surrounded by broken walls, the sky was filled with thick, acrid smoke.

Eugene Tamba held a dagger blessed by ■■■■; the blade flowed with an eerie light that did not belong to this world, as if it could devour all light.

His movements were agile, like a leopard lunging from the darkness, charging straight at Horus.

Horus, the Warmaster of the Imperium, showed not a hint of panic in the face of the sudden attack.

He wore heavy power armor and held a massive power sword, his figure standing tall like a pine.

As Eugene Tamba's dagger sliced through the air, piercing toward his chest with a trail of corrupting power...